Grasshopper

1st #cocktail of #FridayNightCocktails on the 8th April: Grasshopper

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The Grasshopper is a sweet, mint-flavoured, after-dinner drink, the name of which derives from its green color, which comes from creme de menthe. A bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, Tujague’s, claims the drink was invented in 1918 by its owner, Philip Guichet. The drink gained popularity during the 1950s and 1960s throughout the American South and came to my attention in the TV show The Big Bang Theory.

This is one of the few, if not the only, mint cocktails I’ve tried which I actually like.

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Ingredient List for the #FridayNightCocktails on the 8th April

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To help you join in with the upcoming #FridayNightCocktails on the 8th April, we’ve compiled the ingredient list in two formats:

  • Separate ingredient lists for the four cocktails we’ll be making, but without quantities or the cocktail names.
  • Combined the ingredients into an alphabetical list so as to not “give the game away”.

We’ve hidden the two lists behind toggles so you can choose which list you want to use; this is a new method and we’d appreciate feedback on how well you think it works.

Separate Ingredients

First Cocktail

Spirits

Green Creme de Menthe
White Creme de Cacao
Single Cream

Suggestions

[cocktail-ingredient name=”De Kuyper Creme de Menthe Liqueurs”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Giffard Creme De Cacoa White Liqueur”]

Mixers

Single Cream

Second Cocktail

Spirits

Peach Schnapps
Vodka

Suggestions

[cocktail-ingredient name=”Archers Peach Schnapps”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Absolut Vodka”]

Mixers

Cranberry Juice
Orange Juice

Suggestions

[cocktail-ingredient name=”Ocean Spray Classic Cranberry Juice with No Added Sugar”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Eager Squeezed Smooth Orange Juice”]

Third Cocktail

Spirits

Amaretto
Coffee Liqueur
Irish Cream
Vodka

Suggestions

[cocktail-ingredient name=”Disaronno Originale”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Bailey’s Irish Cream”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Kahlua Coffee Liqueur”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Absolut Vodka”]

Mixers

Milk (Whole)
Single Cream

Fourth Cocktail

Spirits

Cognac
Triple Sec
White Rum

Suggestions

[cocktail-ingredient name=”Martell VS Fine Cognac”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Giffard Pacifico Triple Sec Liqueur”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Silver Moon White Rum by Lost Years”]

Mixers

Lemon juice

Combined Ingredients

Spirits

Amaretto
Cognac
Coffee Liqueur
Green Creme de Menthe
Irish Cream
Peach Schnapps
Triple Sec
Vodka
White Creme de Cacao
White Rum

Suggestions

[cocktail-ingredient name=”Disaronno Originale”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Martell VS Fine Cognac”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Kahlua Coffee Liqueur”][cocktail-ingredient name=”De Kuyper Creme de Menthe Liqueurs”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Bailey’s Irish Cream”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Archers Peach Schnapps”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Giffard Pacifico Triple Sec Liqueur”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Absolut Vodka”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Giffard Creme De Cacoa White Liqueur”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Silver Moon White Rum by Lost Years”]

Mixers

Lemon juice
Cranberry Juice
Lemon juice
Milk
Orange juice
Single cream

Suggestions

[cocktail-ingredient name=”Ocean Spray Classic Cranberry Juice with No Added Sugar”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Eager Squeezed Smooth Orange Juice”]

There can be quite a few spirits used each time we do a Friday night cocktails, but the same spirits are generally used over and over again. Strong spirits like whiskey, gin, vodka and so on will last months to a year or two once opened (how long will depend on how often the bottle is opened.

Ingredient List for the #FridayNightCocktails on the 1st April

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We had a brief discussion on Twitter the other day when we agreed that I would post the ingredients for the cocktails we’ll be making on Friday 1st April. We’ve selected the cocktails we’ll be making and below is a list of the spirits, bitters, mixers and garnish needed for the four cocktails we’ll be making. Rather than entirely giving the game away, so to speak, we’ve created two ingredients lists for you:

  • Separate ingredient lists for the four cocktails we’ll be making, but without quantities or the cocktail names.
  • Combined the ingredients into an alphabetical list so as to not “give the game away”.

We’ve hidden the two lists behind toggles so you can choose which list you want to use; this is a new method and we’d appreciate feedback on how well you think it works.

Separate Ingredients

First Cocktail

Spirits

Golden Rum
Irish Cream
Salted Toffee Liqueur

Suggestions

[cocktail-ingredient name=”Mount Gay Eclipse Barbados Golden Rum”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Bailey’s Irish Cream”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Aber Falls Salted Toffee Liqueur”]

Mixers

Single Cream

Second Cocktail

Spirits

Dry Gin
Dry Vermouth
Sweet Vermouth

Suggestions

[cocktail-ingredient name=”Tanqueray Export Strength Gin”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Noilly Prat Original Dry Vermouth”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Cocchi Vermouth Di Torino”]

Bitters

Orange Bitters

Suggestions

[cocktail-ingredient name=”Angostura Orange Bitters”]

Third Cocktail

Spirits

Peach Schnapps
Vodka

Suggestions

[cocktail-ingredient name=”Archers Peach Schnapps”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Absolut Vodka”]

Mixers

Cranberry Juice

Fourth Cocktail

Spirits

Amaretto

Suggestions

[cocktail-ingredient name=”Disaronno Originale”]

Mixers

Ginger Beer
Red Grape Juice

Suggestions

[cocktail-ingredient name=”Bundaberg Ginger Beer”]

Garnish

Red/Black Grapes

Combined Ingredients

Spirits

Amaretto
Dry Gin
Dry Vermouth
Golden Rum
Irish Cream
Peach Schnapps
Salted Toffee Liqueur
Sweet Vermouth
Vodka

Suggestions

[cocktail-ingredient name=”Disaronno Originale”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Tanqueray Export Strength Gin”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Noilly Prat Original Dry Vermouth”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Mount Gay Eclipse Barbados Golden Rum”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Bailey’s Irish Cream”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Archers Peach Schnapps”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Aber Falls Salted Toffee Liqueur”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Cocchi Vermouth Di Torino”][cocktail-ingredient name=”Absolut Vodka”]

Bitters

Orange Bitters

Suggestions

[cocktail-ingredient name=”Angostura Orange Bitters”]

Mixers

Cranberry Juice
Ginger Ale
Red Grape Juice
Single Cream

Suggestions

[cocktail-ingredient name=”Bundaberg Ginger Beer”]

Garnish

Red/Black Grapes

2nd #cocktail of #FridayNightCocktails on the 25th March: Gimlet

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Our second cocktail is another classic dating back to (at least) the 1920s; the Gimlet, which is made of gin and Rose’s Lime Juice.

The gimlet is a cocktail made of gin and Rose's Lime Juice. A 1928 description of the drink was: gin, and a spot of lime. A description in the 1953 Raymond Chandler novel The Long Goodbye stated that "a real gimlet is half gin and half Rose's lime juice and nothing else." This is in line with the proportions suggested by The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), which specifies one half Gin and one half Rose's Lime Juice. However, modern tastes are less sweet, and generally provide for at least two parts gin to one part of the lime and other non-alcoholic elements (see recipes below).

The derivation of the name of the cocktail is contested. It may be named after the tool for drilling small holes (alluding to its "piercing" effect on the drinker) or after the surgeon Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Gimlette (27 November 1857 – 4 October 1943), who is said to have first added lime cordial to gin to help combat the ravages of scurvy on long voyages.

[cocktail-ingredients]